1. Field
The various embodiments of the present invention relate to the syntheses of shaped metal-containing components, and more particularly to methods that at least partially convert shaped templates into metal-containing components that retain the shape and microstructure of the template.
2. Description of Related Art
Carbon is used in a wide variety of applications because of its high-temperature strength, relatively low density, relatively low cost, machinability, and attainable macroscale-to-microscale-to-nanoscale structures. Carbon is readily available as graphite particles, discontinuous and continuous fibers, graphitic and amorphous foams, and combinations thereof, all of which may be shaped into any number of complex three-dimensional patterns. As such, engineered carbon materials can be versatile and robust substrates for conversion into metal and metal carbide ceramic coatings or replicas.
Metal and metal carbide coatings have been applied to carbon fibers and other carbon-based substrates using a variety of approaches. By way of example, one such approach utilizes chemical vapor deposition techniques with metal halide gases and hydrogen gas (as the reducing agent) to form a metal coating, and/or a hydrocarbon gas as the carbon source to form a metal carbide coating, and/or a substrate as the carbon source to form a metal carbide coating. These existing methods, and/or the gases used in these existing methods, can be expensive. The gases used in these existing methods can also be difficult to handle. Furthermore, these existing methods require an external gaseous or liquid reducing agent (that is, a reducing agent other than the carbon substrate) to drive the overall reaction.